Creating awareness among youths about internet, internet safety, free speech with responsibility , digital act, digital crime, propaganda, fake news can ensure safe and free movement in digital space.

Those were the main takeaways from a workshop titled “Advocacy Dialogue: awareness and protection of digital citizenship and rights”, held with participation of law practitioners and journalists on Monday in the capital.

Read: Tech Republic showcases Jabra's smart solutions for hybrid offices

Social enterprise Dnet, that focuses on use of technology to provide solutions for social problems, organized the workshop jointly with Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom funded by the European Union under the project, ``Foster Responsible Digital Citizenship to Promote Freedom of Expression in Bangladesh.”

“It is necessary to define vague terms like cyber security, cybercrime in Bangladesh Digital Security Act, 2018, . It would have been easier for people to understand which issues are considered as violation of the reputation of the state if there was proper definition”,Faruq Faisel, Regional Director of Article 19 said.

The lawyers said posting offensive pictures on Facebook, defamation cases are the most common cases they see but the progress of the trials are slow.

Md. Saimum Reza Talukder, Senior Lecturer School of Law at BRAC University presented the advocacy brief formed under the project at the workshop and conducted a spontaneous discussion with the attendees.

Various suggestions for making Bangladesh's online world more supportive of young citizens emerged from the discussion.

“All levels of society have to work to provide opportunities for young people to exercise their rights in the digital world and to acquire the skills to use the online world responsibly for nation building. Only then can we ensure a sustainable future for our country in this digital era,” remarked M Shahadat Hossain, Executive Director of Dnet.

The advocacy brief discussed at the workshop can be availed here: https://www.digitalcitizenbd.com/